Colden Canoe
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The Colden Canoe Team
Paul Meyer - Owner and Boat Builder
“being diligent in your work” have served him well throughout his life. His father and
grandfather exposed him early to the great outdoors on mountain climbing and
backpacking trips. He vividly remembers being drawn to the ponds and lakes they
would encounter on those outings but he saw water initially as a boundary that could
not be crossed. And then he discovered canoes. With that the boundaries disappeared
and a whole new world opened. This began his life long fascination with how they
worked, how they were built and the people who created them.
doing trail work in Yosemite and working and skiing across Colorado, and living in a
tepee. The lessons learned during this time served him well as he came back to
Western New York, married his high school sweetheart, started a family and went back
to manage the farm he had started on so many years ago. That eventually lead to him
starting his own commercial window cleaning business which he has managed and
grown using the lessons garnered from his life experiences. Through all of this he began
using his craft skills to build strip canoes and kayaks for his own use. During his
relaxation time he would talk with and learn from the canoe builders, such as Dave
Curtis of Hemlock Canoes, and Charlie Wilson of Placid Boatworks. These
conversations helped to fill his deep curiosity to understand how a canoe goes from
idea, to physical hull, to a viable product in the marketplace that people use and enjoy.
This combination of fascination and passion lead Paul to ask Charlie Wilson at the early
2009 Western Pennsylvania Solo Canoe Rendezvous “Can the Fire boats come back to
life? Can I be a part of that?” Since getting an enthusiastic “yes” from Charlie, Paul has
been marshaling the resources necessary to bring Colden Canoe and the single blade
Fire Series back to life.
business that combines his passion for canoes and his fascination with how they are
built and crafted. Colden Canoe…helping people to cross boundaries.
Paul Meyer - Owner and Boat Builder
If there is one life theme that best describes
Paul, it is “crossing boundaries”. He has
taken a rather unconventional path to
becoming a canoe builder as his early
lessons came from the land and the great
outdoors, not the typical classrooms or boat
building apprenticeships. Paul learned the
core business skills of production, sales and
customer service starting as a young teen
“being diligent in your work” have served him well throughout his life. His father and
grandfather exposed him early to the great outdoors on mountain climbing and
backpacking trips. He vividly remembers being drawn to the ponds and lakes they
would encounter on those outings but he saw water initially as a boundary that could
not be crossed. And then he discovered canoes. With that the boundaries disappeared
and a whole new world opened. This began his life long fascination with how they
worked, how they were built and the people who created them.
doing trail work in Yosemite and working and skiing across Colorado, and living in a
tepee. The lessons learned during this time served him well as he came back to
Western New York, married his high school sweetheart, started a family and went back
to manage the farm he had started on so many years ago. That eventually lead to him
starting his own commercial window cleaning business which he has managed and
grown using the lessons garnered from his life experiences. Through all of this he began
using his craft skills to build strip canoes and kayaks for his own use. During his
relaxation time he would talk with and learn from the canoe builders, such as Dave
Curtis of Hemlock Canoes, and Charlie Wilson of Placid Boatworks. These
conversations helped to fill his deep curiosity to understand how a canoe goes from
idea, to physical hull, to a viable product in the marketplace that people use and enjoy.
This combination of fascination and passion lead Paul to ask Charlie Wilson at the early
2009 Western Pennsylvania Solo Canoe Rendezvous “Can the Fire boats come back to
life? Can I be a part of that?” Since getting an enthusiastic “yes” from Charlie, Paul has
been marshaling the resources necessary to bring Colden Canoe and the single blade
Fire Series back to life.
business that combines his passion for canoes and his fascination with how they are
built and crafted. Colden Canoe…helping people to cross boundaries.
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